'14 Concord TS300 slide out

[drhud]

My Concord's passenger side slideout will not close properly...pops...leaks and
stays at an angle. I have taken it to Motorhomes of Texas on three separate occasions and they have added rollers to the front to support the weight and several other things...NONE worked. The owner refunded all of my money back to me and said that they can not fix it. Suggested I take it to someplace in Indiana that makes the slides for most manufacturers. Does anyone know the name of this "place"?

[RobbieH]

Do you know what kind of slides it has? Can you get a picture of the slide when it's extended?

Where are you currently located?

[drhud]

I am just north of Houston....they are Lippert slides..no pictures though!

[LeisureDriver]

Sounds like we have similar problems. Bought our 1st RV last March and didn't get real use until late June with some openings around the country. Our Dinette Slide-Out has gradually gotten worse and the lower racks are now getting chewed up; particularly at the front, what Lippert (maker of the Schwintek system) calls the Float Side.



I'm handy and have learned a lot from Lippert's website and have about a grand worth of S-O repair kits on back order, going on a month now. In the meantime, I've removed both columns and the racks getting ready for the new parts to arrive.


One of the main problem with the Dinette S-O is that it sits on just one center roller while both the Sofa & Bed Room S-O roll on two rollers, one at each end. Sometime after our model year, Coachmen went to two rollers for the Dinette S-O as well. With just one roller, you can imagine the stress placed at the front & rear end where the system is mounted, at all times; particularly when we're bouncing down the highway and when the S-O is in use with us sitting on the benches that are, you got it, at the front & rear end of the S-O. Motor Homes did at least address part of the problem by adding a roller to the front; but, that roller may or may not have been at the right height needed.



From my `study', including contacting Coachmen & Lippert, the other main problem is two-fold: the columns were mounted too far from the S-O walls due to the RV walls' opening width wasn't perfectly matched with this S-O system. This problem also exist with the other two S-O but is at least, tempered by the fact they have two rollers helping to support the S-O. My plan is to mount the columns at exactly the space needed to comply with clearances specified by Lippert (see their documentation for what I mean). By the way, our columns are mounted very differently than for trailers and 5th wheels with vertical side walls. Our walls are curved which forces Coachmen to mount the columns in a reverse manner such that the columns themselves are only supported by screws into the backing plate, as vs. having two sides supported by the RV wall's x-section and the flange screwed into a backer attached to the RV wall's interior or exterior.


Anyway, unless you spend a couple of dozen hours studying up, you'll probably find all this confusing. I've probably spent well over 50 to 60 hours on this problem....and reading forums, watch YouTube, etc....but, importantly, I enjoy all of this and feel that once I've become `expert' on this Schwintek, it will save me thousands down the road.


It's been over 2 months since you posted and if you have found THE solution, let me know. IF your mechanics just replaced the whole system without doing anything else, you'll have some years of service before this problem recur.




IF you really want to learn more about this Schwintek system, look up Gordonsick on this forum (August, 2019 time frame). He posted very detailed steps to solving his problem which is different than our problem (his was worse caused by very heavy S-O) but fixing or replacing the Schwintek hardware is identical.

[bikendan]

The OP hasn't posted since Nov 20 of last year.
You might be better off by sending the OP a PM instead.

[drhud]

Thank you for the detailed response!!! Unfortunately, I have not found a solution to this problem. MOT did completely remove the entire slide and
install two rollers to help distribute the weight, but after putting everything back together again, the problem has worsened. It behaves as if the slide- in is possibly out of square as the slide binds and makes extremely loud popping noises and leaves metal shavings on the guide teeth. It also won't close completely up on the side closest to the passenger door. I have to get out and push it in the last inch or so. I just don't open it at all now and hopefully will eventually end up in Indiana somewhere talking to someone who can actually fix it!

[LeisureDriver]

I've completed the overhaul of both my Dinette & Sofa Slide-Outs and both are much better than before; though the Dinette seems to be having a harder time getting synchronized. Neither are grinding, so, that's a good sign.


I think the key positive steps I took are:


1) Move h-columns by drilling new mounting holes such that the Lippert spec. of 2.5-in.+/- 1/8", h-column flange to gear rack face, was achieved for 7 of 8 locations for the two Slide-Outs. I got a little fatigued and missed one! Before, the Dinette's top/bottom measurements were 2.25" & 2.75" (Front/Float side) & 3.375" & 3.25" (Rear/Fixed side).


2) Installing 2 metal rivets for each of the Fixed side Bearing Blocks. Lippert's manual calls for just rivets on one side. Installed plastic rivets on float side BB. When I removed & dismantled my 4 h-columns, I did NOT find traces of any rivets, metal or plastic (fixed & float sides). Can't say they were never there, but judging by the overly wide distances to the gear racks at just about ALL 8 locations, I can guess that no rivets were used since the rivets serve to hold the Bearing Blocks INSIDE the h-columns...but the columns were mounted too far away from the Slide-Out walls. By the way, we need Composite Bearing Blocks (Lippert #379077) rather than the Standard blocks since our gibbs are not a simple rectangle. IF I've relocated the columns.


3) The drip trays at the bottom of each h-column are prone to twisting. Since the h-columns' flanges are mounted on the backer that is part of the drip tray, the h-columns are not FIXED in place when the motors are torquing. I prevented the drip tray from twisting by screwing in an angle iron into the RV floor.


4) Adding the Service Rollers, J-36, to the front & rear of the Slide-Out openings and making sure that the height is just right and won't tilt the room's floor as it moves in or out.


Anyway, my RV is stored near I-10 & Gessner, in near-west Houston and I'd be happy to meet you there and perhaps, in person and with Lipperts' documentation, better explain all this. I believe the problem originated with Coachmen's slide-out crew not thoroughly familiar with Schwintek installs on curved walls. With just the h-column flange serving to anchor the columns, rather than having two sides anchored, our systems are much more prone to problems. My cell: 713-385-0281.